Tuesday's a news day

□ The aforementioned Homefront patch is, at first blush, working quite well.  The sniper nerf is probably going to marginalize the M200+thermal optics+4x zoom sluts, but from what I've seen so far, you're still going to fall to the M110+3x zoom with roughly the same regularity.  The two semi-auto shots to center mass remain deadly, and those nifty thermal goggles are still an option.

It appears that the devs have stabilized the framerates a bit, which should make (some) people happy.  I for one, am relieved that they didn't tinker with the ACR.  It's still the best weapon in the game.

□ Crysis 2 also has a patch (1.2.0.0), which sports some minor fixes.  The anti-cheat measures are supposed to be improved, but give it a week.  

There's also a note to Steam users:  "Steam users will experience some prolonged loading times in this patch for which we apologise. We will update the Steam build in the next few days to resolve this issue."

□ The next Black Ops DLC has been announced prematurely.  The promotional graphic, viewable on VG247, shows a May 5 release date (edit:  this version of the poster has more character).  The new content will include four MP maps and one zombie map.  It's a safe bet this means the release of the mod tools will be pushed into June.

□ Battlefield Play 4 Free is now live.  It's not clear whether the micro-transaction system means that you'll have to buy kit to enjoy the game.

Expect some bugs.  Or many.

□ The PC Alliance has announced that the PC will again be the top gaming platform.  It's a nice thought, but I don't buy some of their arguments.

We can hope:

'The spotlight has absolutely shifted back to PC gaming,' said Matt Ployhar, PCGA president and Intel graphics planner. 'I don't believe this phenomenon is going to slow down. A good portion of the companies that are flush with cash right now are coming from abroad, which largely ties in with my postulation about globalization spilling over into the PC gaming ecosystem.'  

'Investment dollars are also shifting back largely in favour of PC gaming for a variety of reasons. Most of this is tied to the profitability margins largely favouring PC gaming for the game developers themselves. For example, 'free to play' and micro transactions, practically no secondary sales market, and the shift to digital distribution to name just a few.' 

□ Finally, there's a Morrowind mod out there that will blow your doors off:

I never played Morrowind, but I did run through Oblivion once.  I don't remember the latter having landscapes with that kind of artistry.